


it's all alright

by wrnkledtime



Series: to the end of the world [5]
Category: Once Upon a Time (TV)
Genre: F/M, Fluffy Angst, OUAT season 5, angsty fluff, hurt comfort, ouat 5x14, post 5x14
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-03-29
Updated: 2016-03-29
Packaged: 2018-05-29 22:36:10
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,209
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/6396754
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/wrnkledtime/pseuds/wrnkledtime
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>they tell themselves that, for now, it's all alright.</p>
            </blockquote>





	it's all alright

It’s only after insistent reassurances and allowing everyone to hover over them for an hour that she manages to finally, _finally_ have them alone and together in the house - _their house,_ Emma has to remind herself, and she warily wonders what’s going through Killian’s head as silence engulfs them.

She can feel his gaze on her as she steadily avoids it, instead finding the quilted pattern of her sweater a million times more fascinating than it had ever been before. She suddenly feels restless; her magic itches beneath her skin and her heart pounds in her ears, echoing with uncertainty and doubt, and she’s suddenly helpless and uneasy and unsure of what to do.

 _Tell me what to do_ , she wants to say to him. She needs a sign, something from him to let her know that he’s okay, really okay, because he’s been silent ever since she’s gotten him back. She doesn’t know what to do or handle this type of situation, and the panic is rising in her chest because it wasn’t supposed to be like this - it was supposed to go back to normal, as normal as anything could go back to being while stuck in the Underworld version of the house that he and her son had picked out together for them to live in as a family in the future - a future that she so desperately wants but doesn’t know if they still have.

She’s glaring at the baby crib that’s not even three feet away from them, wondering how and why her insecurities and hesitancies have managed to find her, even in the afterlife. She takes in the colors of the embroidered patterns, sunshine yellow, a dusky orange, and a beautiful forget-me-not blue, so similar to the color of his eyes under the lighting of their bedroom back home - their real home - after she’s made him laugh or smile so wide that the crinkles around the edges of his eyes are there even after he’s laid out beside her, snug against her body like a second blanket, as sleep consumes them both.

“What did the crib ever do to you?” He asks suddenly, his words light and without bite, and Emma is jolted out of her stupor at the sound of his strained voice.

She catches his grimace of pain just as he schools his features once he catches her gaze on him.

“Killian,” Emma begins with a frown etched onto her lips. “Let me -”

“It’s fine,” he replies begrudgingly with a shake of his head. Emma curses at his stubbornness, relieved that he has the energy to argue with her yet annoyed that he won’t let her take care of him, although she understands his aversion to the sentiment all too well. She catches his wrist, stilling him with her touch before she reaches up to brush some strands of his hair out from his eyes.

“Killian,” Emma says again, this time managing to maintain eye contact with him as her hand falls to the side of his face. Her fingers brush against the roughness of his stubble and she bites back a fond smile at the sight of ginger mixed in with the chocolate brown. “Let me take care of you,” she requests softly, almost reverently, and she watches unabashedly as his eyes drop to her lips. She runs her thumb across the expanse of his cheek and doesn’t hold back a smile as he leans into her touch, his eyes fluttering shut and exhaustion taking over his features. He lets out a sigh, nodding once before pressing a lingering kiss to the palm of her hand, causing Emma’s own breath to catch in her throat.

She smiles at him, a soft, fleeting upturn of her lips as he leans back into the sofa. She hovers over him, one of her knees brushing against his own as her hand falls to rest on his thigh. She lifts her free hand over his face, feeling the warmth and life radiate from him as she takes a deep breath and emits her magic. She moves her hand at a leisurely place over his injuries, careful to patch up every cut and bruise, and she frowns as he shifts restlessly against her.

“Hold still,” she admonishes, her eyes widening and the erratic beating of her heartbeat increasing with breathlessness at the sight of his grin. “I’m almost d -” He lunges for her then, wrapping his arms around her to prevent her from falling backwards before his lips capture hers without hesitation.

She sighs against his lips, unable to prevent herself from laughing giddily a moment later as he attempts to maintain a languid pace but ultimately fails. He pulls away from her reluctantly and she watches as a grin takes over his expression, her stomach flipping with gratitude and relief at his clean and healed skin. His breath washes over her skin in pants and she leans into him, placing her head into the crook of his neck and placing a soft kiss at the warm skin there as his hold around her tightens.

His lips find her hair and then the crown of her head, and he peppers several kisses there as he breathes her in, his mind going dizzy with the mere presence of her. Her fingers find the cool metal of the charms of her necklace, and she strokes the exposed skin of her collarbones before snuggling into him further.

“I’m sorry,” she breathes out, focusing on the steady beating of his heart as she presses her ear against his chest. Tears prick at her eyes and she blinks furiously, willing for them to go away - she’s had enough tears. Killian’s hand finds the back of her neck and his fingers brush through her hair as he urges her upwards. His hand skims against the side of her face as she blinks at him, and he smiles softly as he thumbs at the endearing little dent in her chin.

“I can count the amount of times you’ve said sorry to me within the past hour on two hands,” he says gently. “I should only be able to count them on one, if any at all. I only have one hand after all, love.”

Emma snorts at that, choking out a laugh before hiding her sniffling self into his shoulder. He chuckles softly and she melts at the sound, melts under his touch as he resumes stroking the tresses of her hair softly.

A comforting moment of silence passes over them, and it’s then that Emma decides to speak again. She curls into him, resting her body weight against him as he peers down at her with a soft smile playing on his lips. She reaches up and brushes her thumb across his bottom lip, biting her own as yet another smile threatens to break loose as he catches the pad of his thumb with his lips and presses a kiss against it.

“I love you,” she says.

And his answering smile is all she needs in response as his lips descend onto hers again, his mouth determined and sure against hers as he communicates his message in their favorite way that they know how:

_I love you, too. It’s all alright._


End file.
